Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Greater New Orleans

Change Region

comments

Drew Brees sees 2014 New Orleans Saints as a new team with departure of familiar faces

Drew Brees: New Orleans Saints vs. Philadelphia Eagles 2014

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) takes a snap in the first quarter during the wild card playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday, January 4, 2014.
(Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Drew Brees acknowledges what's in front of him entering the New Orleans Saints' 2014 season: "It's going to be a new team in a lot of ways."

The Saints quarterback told Fox Sports and USA Today at the NFLPA meetings in Orlando, Fla., that with so many veteran faces leaving the Saints roster this offseason that the team will have to "forge a new identity" going forward.

"It's funny, because as I look into my career, and someone has told this to me at some point, really, in your lifetime, you're going to play with about five or six different teams in the sense that every four years on the team, it's really a completely new team," Brees said.

"It's tough, because a lot of those guys I've played with for eight years," Brees said. "Eight years. Which is rare. I'd say that's very rare in this day and age, to have that amount of time with a group of guys. You become very connected during that time, so it's always hard when you get to this point."

Sproles' departure probably hit Brees the hardest.

"That was one of the tougher ones for me," Brees said. "I feel like that was my guy, that was my pick and I wanted that to last forever. But unfortunately, it didn't last forever."

Brees added: "I think a Darren Sproles only comes around once in your lifetime, in my career and in everybody's career. There may be another one 15, 20 years from now. But there's not many guys like Darren Sproles. He's a special player, he's a special person, he's a special teammate. I'm lucky to have had the chance to play with him on two teams -- '05 in San Diego when we drafted him in the (fourth) round and three years in New Orleans."